Is it time to play Jarren Williams? Hurricanes coach Mark Richt weighs options with freshman quarterback

As the Hurricanes accept the reality that their dream of playing for an ACC title is all but over, is it time for them to start giving younger players more playing time, particularly at quarterback? Mark Richt weighs in on whether now is the right time for Jarren Williams or not.

After three straight conference losses, the Miami Hurricanes — and coach Mark Richt — are well aware their dreams of playing for an ACC title have all but ended. So what’s next?

There was, after Saturday’s 20-12 loss to Duke, a lot of talk about pride, about playing to finish strong. And while that’s still a major consideration as Miami turns its focus to this week’s game against Georgia Tech, Richt now finds himself having to walk a fine line.

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Though the Hurricanes want and need to win games — it’s November and they still haven’t secured bowl eligibility — is it time to see what more of their younger players can do, particularly at quarterback?

All season, Richt has alternated between veteran Malik Rosier and redshirt freshman N’Kosi Perry, and neither has proven remarkably consistent or accurate. Rosier, who last season helped lead Miami to 10 wins, has completed just 53.5 percent of his passes for 1,007 yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions, while Perry has completed only 52.4 percent of his passes for 701 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.

During his weekly radio appearance with WQAM’s Joe Rose on Monday, Richt conceded he let Perry finish the Duke game in an effort to try and spark an offense that hasn’t been able to score more than 14 points in each of its last three losses.

That spark never came, so Rose asked Richt one of the same questions many frustrated Hurricanes have been asking during Miami’s three-game slide. Is it time to see if freshman quarterback Jarren Williams, who enrolled in January and earned raves from teammates and coaches during spring practice, can do any better?

Even with new NCAA rules that allow freshmen to play in up to four games and still retain their redshirt eligibility, Richt said it’s complicated, especially with the Hurricanes still in need of wins.

There’s also the risk of jeopardizing Williams’ confidence if he’s inserted into games before he’s ready.

“There’s no doubt he’s [getting closer]. He’s a kid that’s trying to do all those little details that it takes to get better at what you do and really focus hard on learning and when he gets the reps in practice, doing it exactly the way it needs to be done and he’s done well,” Richt said. “But it’s like anything else. Everybody wants to scream for the next guy, and that’s understandable if you’re not getting the results you want, but there’s a lot more to it than people think. It’s not just dropping back and slinging it.

“And the other thing, too, is, you put a guy in there before he’s ready and you cook him too fast, you know? All of a sudden, he’s got to deal with not getting the job done and starting to lose confidence and all that kind of thing. You want guys to be able to function well and execute well by the time they do get in, so it is a positive experience and they can build off of it.”

Richt, who said after Saturday’s loss that the option to play Williams was on the table, hasn’t typically shied away from playing freshmen during his three-year tenure at Miami.

His first season, the Hurricanes started three freshmen linebackers in Shaq Quarterman, Mike Pinckney and Zach McCloud. Receiver Ahmmon Richards earned freshman All-American honors and broke Michael Irvin’s freshman receiving record. And last year, receiver Jeff Thomas, running back DeeJay Dallas, offensive lineman Navaughn Donaldson and cornerback Trajan Bandy were among some of the Hurricanes’ biggest contributors as first-year players.

This season, the Hurricanes have counted on several first-year players, including tight end Brevin Jordan, kicker Bubba Baxa, cornerback Al Blades, receivers Brian Hightower and Mark Pope, defensive tackle Nesta Silvera and running back Lorenzo Lingard before he got hurt.

“You absolutely have to do what you think gives you the best chance to win. You owe it to everybody on that field. You owe it to everybody who comes to the stadium. They want to see the very best that we can put out there,” Richt said. “If you get a chance to play younger guys … we’re playing younger guys whether we want to or not, we’re doing a lot of that. We’re doing a pretty good job of subbing on both sides of the ball, getting young guys in there.

“If there’s a chance to get the younger guys in there and it helps their development, that’s great. But not at the cost of the game.”

Hurricanes pick up key verbal commitment

Miami hasn’t gotten particularly strong play from its punters, with Richt and special teams coach Todd Hartley alternating between Jack Spicer and Zach Feagles much the way they’ve alternated quarterbacks.

Late Sunday night, Miami received a verbal commitment from junior college punter Louis Hedley, who according to the recruiting website 247sports.com, is redshirting this season but averaged 38.6 yards per punt as a freshman at City College of San Francisco.

On Monday, Richt discussed some of the Hurricanes’ punting woes, which proved costly against Duke. Miami, which currently ranks 114th in punting among FBS programs, consistently lost the field-position battle with Duke starting most of its drives near midfield, while the Hurricanes’ average starting position was its own 18-yard line.

“It was a big factor in the game. Field position was horrible and when it came time to punt, we had one punt that was 39 yards and decent hangtime and forced a fair catch and everybody cheered,” Richt said. “That punt there would be average at best if you’re punting like you should or even punting like we do in practice. … We’re trying to figure out answers why. We’re trying to find answers. We can’t all of a sudden make a trade and bring a punter in. You’ve got to work with what you’ve got and keep encouraging the guys.”